An introduction to the geomorphology of Gale crater as seen from Curiosity and from Mars orbiters

1. Gale Crater, Mars
from Above and Below
Emily Lakdawalla

2. This is Mars
• (The view is from Rosetta
during its February 2007 flyby)

3. This is Mars
• (The view is from Rosetta
during its February 2007 flyby)

4. This is Mars
• (The view is from Rosetta
during its February 2007 flyby)

5. (Phobos)
This is Mars Gale Crater
• (The view is from Rosetta
during its February 2007 flyby)

6. Zooming in…
• Gale Crater is 154 km wide
• Near the equator
• On the highland/lowland
boundary
• Specifically: 5°S, 138°E
• Opportunity is at 2°S, 355°E
• Spirit was at 15°S, 175°E

7. Zooming in…
• Gale Crater is 154 km wide
• Near the equator
• On the highland/lowland
boundary
• Specifically: 5°S, 138°E
• Opportunity is at 2°S, 355°E
• Spirit was at 15°S, 175°E

8. Zooming in…
• Gale Crater is 154 km wide
• Near the equator
• On the highland/lowland
boundary
• Specifically: 5°S, 138°E
• Opportunity is at 2°S, 355°E
• Spirit was at 15°S, 175°E

9. Zooming in…
• Gale Crater is 154 km wide
• Near the equator
• On the highland/lowland
boundary
Gale Crater
• Specifically: 5°S, 138°E
• Opportunity is at 2°S, 355°E
• Spirit was at 15°S, 175°E

10. Gale Crater is a
deep hole containing a
big mountain
• Landing site is in lowest part of
crater, north of central mound
• Landing site is at about 4500
meters below Mars average
• Central mound rises about 5500
Gale Crater
meters from that
• Central mound officially named
Aeolis Mons
• Before it was officially named
Curiosity science team
unofficially titled it Mount Sharp

11. Gale Crater is a
deep hole containing a
big mountain
• Landing site is in lowest part of
crater, north of central mound
• Landing site is at about 4500
meters below Mars average
• Central mound rises about 5500
meters from that
• Central mound officially named
Aeolis Mons
• Before it was officially named
Curiosity science team
unofficially titled it Mount Sharp

12. Gale is an OLD crater
• Here’s a fresh, biggish Martian
crater, Tooting
• Note crisp, continuous rim with
arcuate slumps
• Flat floor
• Pointy peak
• Ejecta splash
• Caveat: 27 kilometers, only 1/6
the size of Gale

13. Gale is an OLD crater
• Rim subdued, discontinuous,
dissected
• A lot of topography in floor
• Mound is WAY bigger than a
central peak
• (Gale most likely had a peak
ring to begin with)
• The whole thing has probably
been buried, exhumed, eroded,
partially refilled, eroded some
more

14. Curiosity aimed
here
• Landing ellipse:
20 x 7 kilometers

15. Curiosity landed
here

16. A note before we
zoom in more…
• The image at right is composed
of data from three orbiters:
• Image data from
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
CTX
• Elevation data from
Mars Express HRSC
• Color data from
Viking Orbiter
• Yes, Viking Orbiter
• When we zoom to higher
resolution, we will lose color
because resolution is too low.

17. Zoom in some more

20. Some distances
• From landing location to
“Glenelg” – 400 m
• From landing location to nearest
spot at base of mound – 6 km
• From landing location to point
where they’ll turn to cross the
dune field – 8 km
• Green traverse in straight-line
segments (actual odometry will
be much higher) – 25 km
• To do that in 687 days, will have
to average about 250 m/week

21. The view from here
(Looking south)

22. The view from here
(Looking south)

23. The view from here
(Looking south)
• With some effort you can match
up a lot of the features seen in
orbital images

24. The view from here
(Looking south)
• With some effort you can match
up a lot of the features seen in
orbital images
• This contains the area they’re
planning to drive
• But most of the drive is in a
valley hidden from view
• And that’s where the good stuff
is